While the present invention was developed for use with forced airflow, and it is described in this context, it is to be understood that the invention can be used in any fluid flow apparatus, such as water jets, shower heads, etc. Consequently, the invention is not limited to the context in which it is described herein.
Devices utilizing forced airflow, such as fans, air conditioners, heaters, hair dryers and the like, typically have an opening or nozzle through which the flowing stream of air passes as it exits the device. The stream of air can be directed to flow in a predetermined direction by the selective orientation of the nozzle walls. Alternatively, vanes may be mounted on the nozzle walls to deflect the flow in the desired direction. The direction of airflow can be altered by repositioning the nozzle or vanes. This requires an operator to either manually reposition the nozzle and vanes or activate a motor-driven apparatus to effect mechanical repositioning.
In some applications it is desirable or necessary to continuously redirect the flow of air in a predetermined pattern, such as a back-and-forth waving motion. The manual and mechanical repositioning methods described above have numerous drawbacks that render them unsuitable for these applications.
First, manual repositioning of nozzles and vanes would require continuous effort on the part of an operator. This can be tiring to the operator and economically unfeasible in the commercial environment Second, with mechanically powered nozzles and vanes, additional power would be needed to energize a drive motor. Furthermore, such a mechanical device would require a number of moving parts to accomplish even a simple reciprocating motion of the nozzle or vanes, which adds cost as well as complexity to a commercial product. In addition, a motor-driven nozzle would be unfeasible for use on hand-held devices because of the added weight that an operator would have to hold.
Finally, none of these methods would be capable of directing airflow to create a pulse effect, i.e., continual discharge of periodic bursts of airflow. Although a pulsing airflow may be accomplished by repeatedly blocking the flow of air, this would be dangerous in devices utilizing hot air because it would cause a build up of air pressure and overheating. Consequently, there is a need for a simple, lightweight nozzle that operates off the existing airflow to continuously redirect the stream of airflow in a predetermined pattern.